Relationships between new and established neighbors
begin cordially in Karen Zacarías’s “Native Gardens,” presented by TheatreWorks
Silicon Valley.

A young couple, Pablo Del Valle (Michael Evans
Lopez), an attorney, and his pregnant wife, Tania (Marlene Martinez), who is
completing her doctoral dissertation, have just bought a fixer-upper in Washington,
D.C.

Living next door are longtime middle-aged residents,
Frank Butley (Jackson Davis), a government contractor, and his wife, Virginia
(Amy Resnick), a Lockheed Martin engineer.

When the Del Valles tell the Butleys that they want
to replace the unsightly low chain-link fence between their back yards with a
higher wood one, the Butleys are delighted.

Their reaction changes when the Del Valles discover
that their property is 2 feet wider than had been thought. Reclaiming that 2
feet will intrude into the yard that Frank has so carefully created and tended.

This discovery leads to increasing rancor between
the couples. Racism, ageism, politics, entitlement, environmentalism (Tania
wants only native plants; Frank has non-natives) and other issues fuel the
dispute.

After the play’s basic premise is established, much
of the action consists of often nasty and sometimes humorous confrontations.

The outcome, however, is summarized by the four characters
a year later.

Director Amy Gonzalez keeps the action moving
smoothly and elicits fine performances from all four actors.

The set by Andrea Bechert (with lighting by Steven
B. Mannshardt) readily shows the differences between the two back yards. Costumes
by Noah Marin and sound by Jeff Mockus enhance the show.

Running about 90 minutes with no intermission,
“Native Gardens” will continue through Sept. 16 at the Mountain View Center for
the Performing Arts, 500 Castro St., Mountain View.

Foreground from left: Aldo Billingslea, Stacy Ross, Joseph Patrick O'Malley and Catherine Luedtke in "The War of the Roses."

California Shakespeare Theater has launched the ambitious
“The War of the Roses,” which combines Shakespeare’s “Henry VI” trilogy with “Richard
III.”

Results of this collaboration between artistic
director Eric Ting and dramaturg Philippa Kelly are mixed.

Condensing about 12 hours of historic drama into
four hours means some characters and nuance are lost. Hence, it’s difficult to
care much about most of the characters despite fine acting by some of the
cast’s 14 members, who play varied roles.

The plots, especially in the “Henry VI” series, are
complicated with numerous political machinations and murders in the power
struggle between the red rose House of Lancaster and the white rose House of
York.

Therefore, the program helps with a genealogical
chart covering several generations plus a detailed plot summary. This
information is available online for review beforehand, which is recommended.

Supertitles by sound and media designer Brendan
Aanes introduce some settings and characters, helping with clarification.

Anchoring the production are Bay Area acting
stalwarts like Stacy Ross (in male and female roles), Lance Gardner, Danny
Scheie and Aldo Billingslea.

On the other hand, Aysan Celik as Margaret of Anjou,
Henry’s queen, often becomes too shrill, especially during her lamentations in
“Richard III.”

Ting’s direction is spot-on at times and off the
mark in others. For example, Richard’s opening soliloquy, “Now is the winter of
our discontent,” is almost drowned out by the screaming guitar of Josh Pollock,
performing compositions by music director Byron Au Yong. The guitar intrudes on
other scenes, too.

Danny Scheie takes the throne as Richard III.

In going against type, Ting has cast gifted comic
actor Scheie as Richard III. For the most part, Scheie holds his trademark
vocal mannerisms in check, but Ting has him unnecessarily using a handheld
microphone for most scenes when he’s alone. Nor is there any apparent effort
for Scheie to manifest the deformities that the text so vividly describes.

Nina Ball’s set is relatively simple, while Anna R.
Oliver’s costumes are a mix of modern and medieval.

Fight director Dave Maier and choreographer Erika
Chong Shuch stylize most fight scenes. Lighting by Jiyoun Chang works well
except when banks of lights shine directly into the audience’s eyes.

The four-hour production has a five-minute pause
during the Henry plays and a 15-minute intermission before “Richard III.”

It continues through Sept. 9 with another show Sept.
15 at Bruns Amphitheater, 100 California Shakespeare Theater Way (off Highway
24), Orinda.

AISLE SAY SF Reviews 2000-2017

About Me

Judy reviews San Francisco Bay Area theater and writes feature articles about activities of the Stanford Women's Basketball team and Fast Break Club. A longtime Bay Area journalist, she is retired from the San Francisco Chronicle, where she was a writer and copy editor.